I really enjoyed this course because it helped me learn a lot about translation and the tools used to assist it. Each project was unique and taught me something new, making the experience unique.

Project-Specific Comments

• Project 1A (Technological Article: "Latinoamérica carece de un ecosistema que impulse el emprendimiento científico"): Using Google Sites for the first time was tough, but I liked analyzing a technological article. Comparing DeepL, a tool I often use, with MateCat, which was new to me, was very interesting.

• Project 1B (Technological Article: "AIs Get Worse at Answering Simple Questions as They Get Bigger"): Translating a technological article from Spanish to English helped me see how translating in different directions can bring different challenges. Writing comments about this made me more aware of these differences since Project 1A and Project 1B were the same topics but different SL and TL.

• Project 2 (Medical Article: New Study Reveals Long-term Brainstem Damage in COVID-19 Survivors Using Advanced MRI Scans): Translating medical terms was easier because the words are very specific and don’t change much. However, I noticed differences in how DeepL and MateCat used parts of speech, which showed how tools handle translations differently.

• Project 3 (legal Article: The Liability of Judges for Wrongful Imprisonment): This was my first time translating a legal article. It was interesting to see how important each word is in legal texts. In the law field, words are weapons, and looking at how small differences change the meaning amazed me. Comparing the translations from DeepL and MateCat showed how much human input is needed to get the details right.

• Project 4 (TED Talk: The Problem With Being “Too Nice” at Work | Tessa West | TED): This project was fun because it involved using voice-to-text tools. It showed me how technology can help make translation more accessible.

• Project 5 (Book Sample:  Travesías Mágicas): I enjoyed this project because it took me back to Travesías Mágicas, a book I loved as a child. Seeing how different translations could still convey the same meaning was fascinating and showed the creativity in translation.

• Project 6 (Phonetic Transcriptions:  Travesías Mágicas): : This was my favorite project. I love phonetics, so comparing American and British English transcriptions was very exciting. It reminded me of Teacher Nancy’s classes and how much I enjoy studying phonetics.

• Project 7 (News Articles: Chinese and French): This project was very interesting because I worked with two languages I’m not familiar with, which was a new experience.

• Project 8 (Shakespeare: The Tragedy of Macbeth): I really loved this project because I am a big fan of literature. Choosing Macbeth made sense since I’ve known it since school. Seeing how Shakespeare’s language is translated by machines was very interesting and showed how complex literary translation is.

Final Reflection

This course taught me that while translation tools are very helpful, they cannot replace human translators. Only humans can ensure that culture, context, and meaning are fully conveyed. Proofreading and corrections are always needed to make a translation perfect.